Corporate Crisis: NCR and the Computer Revolution [First ed.] 9780913428740

Table of contents :
CORPORATE CRISIS - NCR and the COMPUTER REVOLUTION......Page 7
ISBN 0-913428-74-4......Page 8
Dedication......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 11
Contents......Page 13
Foreword......Page 15
CORPORATE CRISIS......Page 19
1972-1991: PROGRESS THROUGH CHANGE......Page 21
1 Vanished World......Page 25
2 Shanghai Interlude......Page 34
3 New Beginnings......Page 45
4 Invasion and Defeat......Page 53
5 Prisoner of War......Page 59
6 Survival in Wartime Japan......Page 69
7 The No-Longer-Rising Sun......Page 79
8 England and a Fresh Start......Page 89
9 Slow Boat To China......Page 101
10 Success In Hong Kong......Page 109
11 An Unexpected Development......Page 117
12 Punishment To Fit The Crimes......Page 124
13 Plain Speaking Pays......Page 131
14 Back To Japan......Page 158
15 A Broadening Role......Page 166
16 New Directions......Page 175
17 Ghosts From The Past......Page 184
18 New Generation, New Hopes......Page 194
19 The Manufacturing Dilemma......Page 202
20 Peace At Any Price......Page 208
21 Selling The Product......Page 215
22 More Lost Opportunities......Page 222
23 Change In Management......Page 229
24 Mixed Reactions......Page 238
25 Roadmap For The Future......Page 244
26 Decentralize Or Die......Page 250
27 New Marketing Structure......Page 256
28 The Managerial Challenge......Page 262
29 Setting The Stage For Growth......Page 269
30 Surviving Success......Page 279
31 Over And Out......Page 285
Special Shareholders Meeting Remarks by C. E. Exley, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, NCR, September 13, 1991......Page 290
INDEX......Page 295

Citation preview

AND THE

WILLIAM S. ANDERSON WITH CHARLES TRUAX

FOREWORD BY NICHOLAS F. BRADY

$21.95 On Friday, the 13th of September 1991, the share­ holders of NCR Corporation voted to merge their 107-year-old company with l 06-year-old American Telephone & Telegraph, the world's foremost com­ munications company. The merger, one of the largest in business history, ended AT&T's nine-month, sometimes ac­ rimonious pursuit of a company which, like AT&T itself, had compiled a proud history of technical innovation and customer service. AT&T viewed combining the two compa­ nies' assets and talents as a means of creating an opportunity, at a time when communications and computer networks are becoming integrated, to build "a great American competitor in the global information marketplace." To obtain this opportu­ nity it was willing to exchange $7.4 billion worth of its stock for all ofNCR's shares outstanding. The desirability of the NCR of 1991 con­ trasts sharply with its image in 1972. Then it was widely viewed as terminally ill, and destined to become another victim of the computer revolution. Corporate Crisis is the story of how and why that near-fatal illness came about. It is also the personal story of an unusual man from an equally unusual background who was summoned at the 11th hour to save the company from extinction. Those who have participated in or been affected by the reshaping of a large company will find this book a fascinating and enlightening ac­ count of how such a transformation can be accom­ plished successfully, even against great odds. For the general reader, it reaffirms the principle that determination and persistence can overcome even the most difficult obstacles to individual achieve­ ment.

p

---To Lr ��r½ �r